


Losses

by helsinkibaby



Category: West Wing
Genre: Angst, F/M, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2148465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruno knocks at Margaret’s door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Losses

Initially, Margaret had no intention of opening the door. She’d been crying for almost twenty-four hours now, ever since CJ had got the call, and there was no-one in the world who needed to see her in this condition.

Then she heard his voice. “Margaret, it’s me. Open the door.”

Her first impulse was to do the exact opposite and for more reasons that just a blotchy face and red eyes. Instead though, due to sheer frustration – ok, anger really – at the man’s sheer gall and bad sense of timing, she flung open the door.

“You’re not coming in here,” were her opening words. She expected him to argue with her, maybe even push past her but instead he just sighed and stayed where he was.

“I know I have no right to be here-” he began but she cut him off before he could continue.

“It’s been over a year, Bruno,” she reminded him. “The second I told you I was pregnant, you couldn’t get away from us fast enough. So what, you think you lose your first ever election and you can come to us as some kind of consolation prize? Well...”

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off by Bruno. “Margaret,” he said, and that was enough to do it. She didn’t think she’d ever heard Bruno Gianelli sound so tired – or, for that matter, sincere. “I didn’t come here because I lost an election. I came here because I lost a friend.” Tears stung her eyes because she knew that that much was true – for all their political jousting and differences, Bruno had held Leo in a high enough regard that he did consider him a friend. “A friend who kept telling me how beautiful our daughter was, and what a mistake I was making walking away from you both.” He sighed, shook his head. “I lost a friend today... and I don’t want to lose any more time with our daughter. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance.”

Margaret knew a hundred reasons and a million tears why she should close the door in his face.

Instead she stepped back, clearing a path for him.

“Thank you,” he said as he walked in.

“I’m not doing this for you.”

“I know.”

Their eyes met, and in that moment she could picture Leo, assuring her that one day Bruno would come to his senses, and she should give him another chance when he did.

“Good,” she replied, closing the door behind him.  



End file.
